God doesn’t want us to fear—not even a little. That’s because fear contaminates our faith. We can’t move in faith and move in fear at the same time—and faith is the currency of the kingdom.

Hear the word of the Lord: “Fear is a manifestation of the enemy’s lies. Satan is the father of lies, the father of fear, the father of destruction and devastation. I have not and will not give you a spirit of fear. I have given you a spirit of power to overcome the fear that’s trying to overcome you. I have given you My love that combats every feeling of fear. I have given you a sound mind to discern the subtle voice of fear that speaks against your dreams. Don’t allow yourself to fear for even a second. Call out to Me and My love will deliver you from every fear.”

God didn’t give you a spirit of fear—but that doesn’t mean you don’t have one. You may know you have fear—or fear may be deceiving you with its wily whispers and sneaky strongholds in your soul. Those anxieties that have plagued you, those voices that have prophesied to you, they must bow in the name of Jesus!

My Deliverance From Fear

Fear once had such a tight grip on my soul, if an email came that I thought offered bad news I would close my eyes, forward it to a friend, and ask them to read it and tell me what it said. One time, I ordered pizza, and when the delivery boy knocked on the door it scared me so much I locked myself in my bedroom. Then I called to complain that the pizza never showed up!

That fear was a bondage that affected every area of my life. But fear is not always so obvious. I did some research and discovered a phobia list. There are literally dozens of diagnosed phobias. Some are common, and some are so ridiculous you know the devil has to be at work. Here’s some of the ridiculous ones:

• Fear of flowers  
• Fear of feet
• Fear of numbers
• Fear of ugliness
• Fear of books
• Fear of teenagers
• Fear of mirrors
• Fear of cooking
• Fear of clocks                        

I saw a lady on TV who was scared of pickles. Another lady was afraid of cotton balls. She said they made a noise. These fears were literally ruining their lives. You and I aren’t dealing with anything so ridiculous. But we could be dealing with subtle fears that are robbing God’s best for our lives.

There are many other “fear ofs” we may not even know we face, such as: fear of failure, fear of lack, fear of success, fear of disappointing people, fear of losing a job, fear of loneliness, fear of making decisions, fear of conflict, fear of rejection, fear of losing relationships and so on.

Fear is the most difficult to overcome when its influence is so subtle it’s hard to trace a behavior to the root of fear. It’s an invisible enemy. If you have a fear failure, you may not even know it because your coping mechanism, your response to fear, has become part of your personality.

When fear influences you, you take action based on your fear instead of your faith. You keep failing because you don’t have the faith to succeed. You won’t make a decision because you’re afraid you didn’t hear from God. You won’t try to make new friends because you’re afraid of rejection. You won’t sow because you fear lack.

The Overarching Answer to Overcoming Fear

The Holy Spirit told me this: “When you have a healthy fear of the Lord, you become so consumed with pleasing Him—you become so full of faith in His power—that there is literally no room for the devil’s fear tactics. We won’t take thought to his suggestions because we believe God!

I’m scared not to believe God! Fear is part of the curse of the law (see Deut. 28:66). Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law (see Gal. 3:13). God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (see 2 Tim. 1:7). Fear dilutes your power, causes you to doubt God’s love—that perfect love that casts out fear—and makes your mind unsound. Reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord carries a revelation of the love of God. It carries a revelation of the power of God. It carries a revelation of the truth of God’s Word. It’s all wrapped up in the fear of the Lord!

I challenge you today to meditate on the fear of the Lord. Fear is a fierce enemy, but your God is fiercer than any spirit of fear. If God is for us, who can be against us? Jeremiah 20:11 (MSG) says, “But God, a most fierce warrior, is at my side.  Those who are after me will be sent sprawling—Slapstick buffoons falling all over themselves, a spectacle of humiliation no one will ever forget.” And Nahum 1:2 assures us, “God is serious business. He won’t be trifled with. He avenges his foes. He stands up against his enemies, fierce and raging.” Amen! {eoa}

On a recent trip to Virginia Beach, the Lord began speaking with me about the extended season of revival we are headed into globally. We, as Western Americans, all too often seem to think that revival is predominantly referring to the USA; however, the season of revival we have entered into will touch the hungry masses in major cities and regions around the world.

The Lord has shown me that the years 2017 through 2021 are linked with the outpouring of Acts 2:17-21. Just as that day’s outpouring came with signs and wonders resulting in 3,000 souls coming into the kingdom, we too, are in the beginning stages of a synchronized birthing. This will bring world revival, growing from a flickering flame to a blazing inferno, ultimately ushering in the great harvest to the nations and more.

This great global glory revival is preparatory and mandatory for equipping a supernatural “Joel’s Army” that will in turn be responsible for bringing in the billion-soul harvest that Bob Jones was privileged to hear from the Lord about 1977.

Again, the Lord has shown me that the years 2017 through 2021 are directly linked with Acts 2:17 through 2:21, and that we are to posture and prepare for this global event. To help us better prepare to understand what is coming upon us within the next five years, we can draw parallels from the five Scriptures in Acts. Let’s break it down.

Acts 2:17 (AMPC) “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ God declares, ‘that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.'”

Starting this year (2017) we will see a prophetic “Joel’s Army” being released that will bring the will and wonder of God into the nations. This new breed army will display incredible signs and wonders, as Moses did, before presidents, rulers and kings and will prophecy the word of the Lord to cities, states and nations. These young men and women will see heavenly visions as angels and supernatural beings bring revelation, power and understanding to back up their prophecy. The fathers and mothers will dream dreams and receive the blueprints of divine plans for this generation as the outpouring grows. 

Let’s look Acts 2:18 for the year 2018: “‘Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future events pertaining especially to God’s kingdom].'”

In 2018 the Holy Spirit will continue to be poured out in strategic places globally upon menservants and maidservants. They will prophesy and foretell the divine will of God for future events pertaining to God’s kingdom. Various revival fires will begin to burn bright in nations as anticipation and impartation add fuel to the flame of global outpouring.

Now let’s look at Acts 2:19-21 (AMPC) for the year 2019: “‘And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and smoking vapor; The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the obvious day of the Lord comes—that great and notable and conspicuous and renowned [day]. And it shall be that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord—Christ] shall be saved.'”

This outpouring of the Spirit will be evidenced as it did on the original outpouring with incredible signs and wonders in the nations, so by the year 2021, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21, MEV). There were 3,000 who were originally saved on that day.

Peter was quoting Joel 2:28-32 when he boldly raised his voice to answer those who were questioning why the Galilean disciples were preaching the Gospel message to foreigners who were hearing in their own native language.

And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place, when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.

And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them. And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words]. Now there were then residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout and God-fearing men from every country under heaven.

And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them [the apostles] speaking in his own [particular] dialect. And they were beside themselves with amazement, saying, Are not all these who are talking Galileans? Then how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own (particular) dialect to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and [the province of] Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the transient residents from Rome, both Jews and the proselytes [to Judaism from other religions], Cretans and Arabians too—we all hear them speaking in our own native tongues [and telling of] the mighty works of God! (Acts 2:1-11 AMPC)

These next five years will be filled with wonder and awe as we encounter the glory of God in ways in the nations that we’ve never seen before. To all that are thirsty and hungry for more, get ready, get ready, get ready for a fresh new outpouring of revival glory that will work wonders in the nations for global harvest. {eoa}

Jeff Jansen is an internationally known conference speaker and crusade evangelist. He is also Founder of Global Fire Ministries International, and Senior Leader of the Global Fire Church and World Miracle Center located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Jeff’s burning desire is to see churches, cities, regions and whole nations ignited and transformed by the power of God. He also teaches, trains and equips believers how to live and move in the supernatural Presence of God and emphasizes that communion and intimacy with the Holy Spirit is vital for transformation. Global Fire Ministries is an inter-denominational ministry aimed at equipping and igniting the Body of Christ for Global harvest. Jeff, his wife, Jan, and family live in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Jeff travels full-time hosting international crusades and ministering at conferences, churches and Glory Gatherings around the world.

Praying in tongues is an amazing and precious gift. It seems many churches have tried to shy away from it, hiding it in the back room, leaving it only to intercessory prayer meetings or counseling sessions. Some leaders may seem to apologize for it even though it is a biblical truth and is for today, trying to keep it a secret even though it was first seen publicly on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

First Corinthians 13 is known as the “love chapter” and is most often read at weddings. Even though it is a beautiful chapter, its context is referring to spiritual gifts and not marriage. This chapter was sandwiched in between chapters 12 and 14, which discuss the proper use of God’s awesome gifts.

This love chapter describes what our attitude and motivation is to be in using spiritual gifts. Verses 8-9 say, “Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they shall fail; if there are tongues, they shall cease; and if there is knowledge, it shall vanish. But when that which is perfect comes, then that which is imperfect shall pass away.” Some people refer to these verses, saying that spiritual gifts ceased and were only for the first-century church. But as these verses say, spiritual gifts will cease when “that which is perfect comes.”

Some might argue that “the perfect” refers to the completed canon of Scripture, but it’s more likely that it refers to Christ Himself, since verse 12 says, “For now we see as through a glass, dimly, but then, face to face.” Therefore, the spiritual gifts will cease only when Jesus returns. Some people may see this interpretation as a stretch, but if we take the entire context of the epistle of 1 Corinthians into consideration, this is hinted at in 1:7-8, where Paul tells them that he gives thanks for them, “so that you are not lacking in any gift while waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And that day is when He comes back for His church.

The gift of tongues is an incredible spiritual gift, as they all are, and we are to develop our spiritual language after Jesus gives it to us (Matt. 3:11, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:8). The apostle Paul is a great model for us to follow, as he taught that tongues were not a one-time or occasional matter, but it was a lifestyle. In 1 Corinthians 14:18 he said, “I thank my God that I speak in tongues more than you all.” This should be the same in our lives and churches. This should not be just a summer camp experience or a special, once-a-year church service, but it should be applied to our daily lives.

Some people have come to me after a few weeks of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and seem discouraged saying that they only repeat the same few words in tongues that they received when they were first filled with the Spirit. But I let them know that they are on the right track and need to continue in it, because it’s about to grow.

I explain to them that when we were children, we grew our language through repetition, learning words or phrases, adding them to our vocabulary. Thus, as we pray and repeat the words or phrases in tongues the Holy Spirit gave us, our spiritual language will grow and develop. Whether we are driving, walking down the street, or in our prayer closet, we should use every opportunity we can to pray in tongues, worshiping God using this incredible gift.

It’s a process of time and growth as we pray in the tongues of men and angels (1 Cor. 13:1). And praying in tongues is personally edifying as Paul said, “He who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself” (1 Cor 14:4a). We should be excited that we pray and worship Him and build ourselves up through the gift of tongues, connecting with Him on a personal level in a supernatural way.

We should also sing in tongues in our times alone with God. First Corinthians 14:15 says, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding.” This is a key to developing our spiritual language and in learning how to interpret them as we pray and sing in this gift. We can all do this at home by incorporating praying and singing in tongues during our personal time with God. Then we can ask God to give us the interpretation of what we just prayed and sang. As His wonderful Spirit gives us the interpretation, we should write it down in our journal and keep it between us and Him as we praise Him in it (1 Cor 14:16).

May you continue to grow and develop in love toward God and others as your spiritual language soars to new heights in the Spirit of God. {eoa}

Jared Laskey is starting Destiny Open Bible Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is a contributing writer to Charisma. He lives to see Jesus awaken this generation to the power of His Holy Spirit. You can follow him on Twitter @jaredalaskey, or contact him through his website, .

“My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth” (1 John 3:18).

If you really love someone, then you show it by the way you act toward that person.

Love is more than attraction. It’s also more than sentimentality, like so many of today’s songs suggest. By this standard, is love dead when the emotion is gone? No—not at all—because love is an action and a behavior.

Over and over again in the Bible, God commands us to love each other, and you can’t command an emotion. If I told you right now, “Be sad!” you couldn’t be sad on cue. Just like an actor, you can fake it, but you’re not wired for your emotions to change on command.

If love were just an emotion, then God couldn’t command it. But love is something you do. It can produce emotion, but love is an action. 

The Bible says, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions” (1 John 3:18 NLT). We can talk a good act: “I love people.” But do we really love them? Our love is revealed in how we act toward them.

Talk It Over

• In what ways is your love displayed in the way you treat your friends? Your co-workers? Your neighbors? Strangers?
• Think about each member of your family. How can you show your love to _____? Be specific.
• How does choosing to love others affect how we feel about them? {eoa}

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of , a global internet community for pastors.

This article originally appeared at .

Many believers are asking: “How can I control my emotions as a Christian?”

The following inspirational interview on this subject is with Amy Carroll. Amy is a speaker and writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries. She’s the author of Breaking Up with Perfect as well as the director and coach of Next Step Speaker Services.

As a woman who loves a great story and a challenging idea, co-hosting her podcast, Grit ‘n’ Grace, has become one of her favorite things.

Share life with Amy at  and find out more about her speaker coaching services at .

1. What are your favorite Scriptures that help you manage your emotions and why?

Recently I was studying the book of Luke when a little story in chapter 7 jumped off the page at me. Luke 7:12-13 says, “When He came near the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.”

This very short story is filled with rich details if we slow down and read between the lines. Jesus encountered a woman who must have been wild with grief. Her husband had already died, and now she had lost her only son. How alone she must have felt even in the large crowd of friends, family, and neighbors.

Even though Jesus was just passing through, His attention turned to this woman, and “his heart went out to her.” Our Savior is so kind and compassionate. Our feelings matter to Him.

As a reforming perfectionist who tried to deny her emotions for years, especially the negative ones, it comforts me to know Jesus wasn’t anxious to avoid the woman’s grief. Instead, He engaged her emotions, gave her comfort and met her need. We need to allow Him to do the same with our emotions.

2. What are three of your best tips to help others manage their emotions in godly ways?

• It’s useless to try to stuff our emotions away and not feel them. God created us with emotions, and they can be a gift. When a teen-ager at our church died tragically in an accident at a youth retreat, a professional counselor came to talk to our group and said, “Feel all of your emotions, and then lay them at the foot of the cross.”

I’ve carried this healthy advice with me. Instead of either denying our emotions or wallowing in them, we can feel them and then lay them down at Jesus’ feet. Our suffering Savior understands and is trustworthy.

• Pay attention to your emotions, but make them pay attention to the truth. One of the main habits I’ve tried to cultivate is to be sensitive to what I’m feeling but to correct flawed feelings with God’s truth.

When I’m reading the Bible every day and filling myself with God’s perspective, my perspective follows and is put into its proper place. I want my feelings to be informational but not dictatorial.

• Feeling the negative emotions opens the door to feeling the positive ones too. In one of my favorite books about suffering, the author says that grief expands our soul. I love that idea and believe it’s true. Tremendous suffering doesn’t feel good, but it leaves our soul space ready for more joy too.

3. What sabotaging thoughts (lies) do believers need to release that keep them in bondage to negative emotions? 

“Follow your heart” is one of those phrases our culture loves, but Scripture says, “The heart is more deceitful than all things and desperately wicked; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

I’d say that we need to listen to our heart, not ignoring our emotions, but we need to follow the Lord. Often that means asking God to bring our emotions into alignment with His reality rather than letting our flawed human perceptions create a skewed reality.

4. What are some things believers can do at the “moment of decision” when they are tempted to practice destructive behavior when emotionally upset?

My answer ties right into part of the purpose of this ministry, because too often I’ve used food as comfort instead of fuel. I’m working (and begging God to help me) to change my habits to healthier defaults. Taking a walk is good for both my head and my heart, so I’m making a conscious effort to do that instead of sitting down with a whole bag of cookies. {eoa}

This article originally appeared at .

This past week in the section of the Torah that was read in synagogues around the world, we included the making of and worshipping of the golden calf.

Exodus 32:8 says, “They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molded calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, which has brought you up from the land of Egypt.'”

While we all know that this event was a low point in the history of Israel, what many don’t know is that this same text also includes one of the most amazing demonstrations of G-D’s grace shown in the Bible. The focus is so often placed on the making and worship of the golden calf, the breaking of the Tablets and Aaron’s famous line, 

Exodus 32:24 says, “I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and then I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.'”

While these events are very important, in reality, they each only lay the groundwork for a wonderful foundational principle that is established within this portion of Torah. To lay the groundwork for the principle, we must look at the context. First, the people of Israel have been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, they have travelled through the wilderness and are surrounding Mount Sinai, and have been waiting for Moses to return from meeting with G-D on the Mountain. In Exodus Chapter 20, G-D began to speak the Commandments from the Mountain to all of Israel, but after speaking only a few (what became known as the Ten Commandments), because of great fear, the people asked G-D to stop speaking to everyone and tell Moses the Commandments and let Moses tell them to the people.

Then, Moses climbs up the Mountain and receives the Commandments from G-D and the people are waiting for Moses’ return. When Moses does not return quickly enough, the people ask Aaron to make a god to replace Moses. Hence, the golden calf is made. G-D then tells Moses to return to the people because of this great sin of idolatry. Moses intercedes on behalf of Israel, G-D relents as a result, and Moses journeys down the mountain. Upon hearing the noise of the people and seeing their actions, in anger, Moses breaks the Tablets of Covenant.

Yet, with all of this action and excitement, the main part of the story within the portion has not yet taken place. It doesn’t happen until two chapters later when Moses meets with G-D again and writes the new set of tablets. This new set of tablets is different from the first, and one of the differences is vitally important for those of us who believe in Yeshua and the New Covenant.

When writing the commandment concerning having and worshipping no other gods on the replacement set of Tablets, the wording is as follows:

Exodus 34:14-17 says, “(For you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute themselves with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you to eat of his sacrifice. And then you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves after their gods. They will make your sons prostitute themselves after their gods. You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.”

Notice verse 17 states, “You shall make no molded gods.” In chapter 20, there is no mention specifically of “molded,” yet here, it is specifically added. Why? Because a principle is being established. For most it remains a mystery overshadowed by what they consider the major events of the text. This principle is so powerful that, once learned, it is life changing.

Why add the clarification of “molded” to the commandment, “Have no other gods before me?” There are two reasons and both are significant, especially for believers in Yeshua.

The first reason is that this verse is added as if the event of the golden calf had never happened. In other words, the text does not read, “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves again.” Simply by adding this line, G-D is demonstrating His absolute forgiveness of Israel for their sin. In one sentence, G-D let the people know that as far as He was concerned the golden calf incident never took place. This is the same way He treats our sins: once repented of, they no longer exist.

The second reason is that the new tablets are the perfect example of the New Covenant. Although we have sinned and committed idolatry against G-D, He has made a new covenant as proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:32, “It will not be according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, because they broke My covenant, although I was a husband to them, says the Lord.”

The second set of tablets and the wording upon them is one of the most powerful examples of the forgiveness of G-D in Torah and its relationship to the New Covenant. Take time to read Exodus chapter 34 and compare the words on the Tablets to the words of Exodus chapter 20, while also considering the words of Jeremiah 31:32 and Hebrews 8. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is executive director of The Messianic Times and author of With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity and OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry.